Does spirea aphid (Aphis spiraecola Patch, Homoptera: Aphididae) overwinter on apple in Central Europe?

Abstract

The native green apple aphid (Aphis pomi DeGeer) and the invasive green spirea aphid (Aphis spiraecola Patch) share apple as a common host plant during the summer months in Central Europe. Various studies suggest that, under certain conditions, the originally host-alternating A. spiraecola is able to overwinter on apple as a winter host, following a similar life history to A. pomi. In this study, we collected stem mothers (fundatrices) and aphids of the second generation (fundatrigeniae) from ten localities throughout Hungary for nine consecutive springs to assess whether A. spiraecola can overwinter on apple as a winter host. All the collected aphid individuals (1126 aphids from 114 stem colonies during the nine years of the study) belonged to A. pomi, indicating that A. spiraecola does not, or very rarely can, overwinter on apple under Central European conditions.